“Commercial building automation,” or “commercial automation,” refers to the use of computer and information technology to control commercial building systems, such as lighting, HVAC, audio-visual, smoke detection, security, and shading, among others. Using specialized hardware, building devices can be monitored and controlled automatically. Although commercial automation has been available at some level of sophistication for some time, it steadily becomes more practical, both from a technological and cost perspective. This is due in part to the rapid advancement of information technology.
A sophisticated commercial automation system might include sensors (e.g., of temperature, of light, of motion, etc.), controllers (e.g., a general-purpose personal computer, a dedicated automation controller, etc.), and actuators (e.g., motorized valves, switches, etc.). The system might also include a human-machine interface device that enables an occupant of the building to interact with the system. The interface can be a specialized terminal or an application (“app”) running on a smartphone or tablet computer. The various system devices communicate over dedicated wiring, or over a wired network, or wirelessly, using one or more protocols.
FIG. 1 depicts building automation system 100 in the prior art. System 100 comprises: sensor nodes 101-1 through 101-G, wherein G is a positive integer; actor nodes 102-1 through 102-H, wherein H is a positive integer; and controller 110. The aforementioned elements are logically interconnected as shown, and are interconnected either wirelessly or via wired connections.
Sensor nodes 101-1 through 101-G include one or more of: motion sensors, temperature sensors, light sensors, and air quality sensors. Actor nodes 102-1 through 102-H are building devices that include one or more of: lamps, possibly with adjustable brightness and/or color; window blinds that can be opened and closed; and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) systems. Using such sensor and actor nodes, building automation system 100 is capable of triggering and acting on certain conditions as a function of sensor readings, such as turning on lights when motion is detected or when ambient light is low, controlling HVAC systems in response to temperature variations, and so forth. Controller 110 coordinates and executes the actions to be taken by one or more of the actor nodes, based on i) the input signals received from one or more of the sensor nodes and ii) one or more memorized states.